Most of the images I've shared with you have featured the beauty that is found in the larger world around us.

In addition to photographing in the Craggy, Roan and Smoky Mountains this summer I've also been making images closer to home.

In early July I began taking a closer look at a stand of Calla Lilies near my home. The structure, shape, lines, and shadows were fascinating. So early in the morning or late in the day, when the wind was still, I began photographing them.

I started with zoom and wide angle lenses but soon changed to a macro. The closer I looked the more I saw.

Here is the first set of five images from this collection. I hope you enjoy them.

Having spent his entire life exploring the woods and hills of Tennessee, writer and artist Robert McGowan wrote these short essays to pay homage to the natural world he so loved. In essays such as "Bee," "Beetle," and "Turtles," McGowan marvels at the curious behaviors of small creatures. In "Tops," "Fences," and "Maple," he writes about trees-young trees he has seen grow and old trees he has watched rot and disappear into the earth. Be it animals, trees, ferns, flowers, or rocks, McGowan passionately and tenderly recounts his close observations of nature, often wondering about the woods of olden time and imagining the woods of tomorrow. The fine, unbreakable thread that winds through the book is the passing of time-life in the woods begins, grows, and dies. Through it all, McGowan shows the reader he is a man sustained by his sense of peace and contentment, for he knows that despite his concerns about yesterday and tomorrow, "there is only the current." The beautiful photography of Jeffrey Stoner adds vibrancy and vitality to this inspiring collection of nature essays.

I will be presenting "The Fine Art of Photography" at the festival on the 10th and judged the festival's photography on August 1st. The contest images will be on display through the 11th.

The first photograph was made in 1826 and for the next three decades cameras were primarily used as a recording device. In the 1850s photographers began experimenting with their cameras and darkrooms to produce prints that were art and the images they produced with their rudimentary equipment were amazing.

Beginning in the 1890 photographer, publisher and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz set out to prove that photography was a medium as capable of artist expression as painting or sculpture. The acceptance of photography as a fine art is due to the lifelong efforts of Stieglitz and those visionaries that followed him.

The presentation will showcase the fascinating progression of the art of photography and tips and techniques that you can use to improve your own photography.

This exhibition at the gallery of the Johnson City Area Arts Council will feature my images from the Roan Mountain Highlands.The Highlands are a unique area to explore and photograph.The Highlands have harsh snowy winters, acres of Catawba Rhododendron in spring, and the opportunity to hike the Appalachian Trail in August while enjoying the blueberries along the trail.And of course the angora goats that graze the Highlands in the summer as part of the Baatany Goat Project.

The Meaning in Trees is a new 44-page portfolio of my favorite tree images.

I was eight years old when I first had the desire to make an image. Walking outside after an overnight ice storm, I was mesmerized by an ice-covered tree glistening in the morning sun. I desperately wanted a camera to make that image.

My ongoing fascination with trees inspired me to make this special portfolio of my favorite tree images from the Mountain South to the Sea.